Rocker Tina Schlieske is featured in a
new It Gets Better video in support of troubled gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender youth.
In the video, Schlieske, who formed
Tina and the B-Sides while still in high school, sings the
group's hit Everyday (it's going to be a little better) as
teens in the Ally Training program of the Academy of Healing Arts for
Teens (AHA!) offer messages of support.
“I'm Marina,” one of the teens
says. “I'm sixteen and I'm your ally and love is all that matters.”
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The Santa Barbara, California-based
after-school program was founded in 1999. AHA! is dedicated to the
development of character, imagination, emotional intelligence and
social conscience in teenagers. More than 800 teens participate in
AHA! programs.
Sex advice columnist and gay rights
activist Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project encourages troubled gay
teens to hang in there and not cave in to bullies, because life gets
better.
The online collection of videos has
inspired thousands to record messages of hope. Celebrities and
high-profile politicians who have created videos for the It Gets
Better Project include President
Obama, Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, New
York Governor David Paterson, Fort
Worth Councilman Joel Burns, rocker
Adam Lambert and actor Neil
Patrick Harris.